


Matchmaker

by Lunaris (lunaris1013)



Category: Pundit RPF
Genre: Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-07-10
Updated: 2005-07-10
Packaged: 2017-10-02 17:56:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaris1013/pseuds/Lunaris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Keith's former girlfriend sets him up on a blind date. Hilarity ensues!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Matchmaker

It was one of those fine early autumn days in New York City, the kind where the sun still shone brightly in a beautiful blue sky yet the summer's heat had fled. It was the perfect sort of day to dine al fresco while catching up with an old friend, telling tales and sharing photographs.

"He fancies himself the next Beckham," said Christiane as she handed a picture of her son, clad in an oversize jersey and holding a soccer ball, across the table.

Keith took the photo and looked into the eyes of a little boy he hadn't seen since he was still an infant. "If he's anything at all like his mother, I don't doubt that he'll be just that. He looks like a great kid." Keith smiled at his luncheon companion as he handed back the picture. "I'm glad you're happy, Chrissy, but sometimes I wonder what would have happened if we would have worked out."

"Keith, you are one of the few people that I still allow to call me 'Chrissy,'" she smiled back. "I sincerely think you and I would have been divorced in a matter of a few years. We were just barely out of university and too ambitious. Besides, I traveled too much and you," she teased, "liked the boys too much. And I'd much rather have you as an old friend than an ex-husband."

"Lord knows you'd make a formidable ex-wife," he teased back.

"So tell me," Christiane leaned forward and arched a brow, "who are you seeing now?"

"No one. I'm living a very monastic life these days."

"By chance or by choice?"

Keith shrugged. "A little of both, maybe. It just seems like too much effort at the moment."

Christiane looked thoughtful for a minute then smiled. "Would you consider a bit of assistance?"

"You want to fix me up? Chrissy, I can get my own..."

"I'm sure you can, Keith. But I have a friend at CNN that I think you'd like."

"I don't know if I'm ready for inter-network dating."

"He's gorgeous and silver-haired and very nearly as smart as you. Plus I happen to know he's a fan of Puppet Theatre..."

"So he has no taste, this makes us perfect for each other?"

Christiane laughed. "Keith!"

"Okay," Keith sighed. "I hope I don't regret this."

 

*****

When he heard the knock on the open door of his office, Anderson looked up to see Christiane leaning against his door frame. "Hey! What are you doing in New York?"

"James is attending a conference at NYU so we decided to make it a family holiday."

He came around his desk to give her a hug. "Come in, have a seat! So where's Darius?"

"Doing a bit of male bonding with his father. They're off seeing that aircraft carrier down on 12th Street while I had lunch with an old friend." Christiane sat down. "As a matter of fact, that's why I'm here."

Anderson looked at her quizzically. "If you'd called I probably could have..."

"Oh no! I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. I had lunch with someone else. While we were talking, it occurred to me that the two of you need to get together."

"Chris," Anderson looked up toward the ceiling then closed his eyes, "this is never a good idea."

"Andy, I wouldn't try to fix you up with just anyone. As a matter of fact, I had a bit of a thing with him myself."

That got his attention. Anderson leaned forward a bit and narrowed his eyes. "You...?"

"Not recently," she laughed. "That was twenty years past!"

"So he's older."

"He's a year younger than me," now it was Christiane's turn to look askance at him, "if that's what you consider 'older.'"

Anderson threw up his hands in mock defeat. "Okay, sorry! Tell me about him."

"Quite tall and handsome, very intelligent, quick witted. You'll love his sense of humor. And he speaks in a beautiful baritone," she leaned in conspiratorially and lowered her voice, "that will make you absolutely melt when he talks dirty."

He sat back in his chair and laughed. "All right. Set us up!"

*****

"This is Keith. Leave me a message."

BEEP

"Keith? This is Chris. You're all set up for drinks at Shalel on 70th tonight at 10. I've been called back to London, but I expect a full report waiting for me later!"

*****

As soon as he was off-air, Anderson checked his cell phone. One message, from Chris, who was now flying back to London and incommunicado. She left the time and place, but not the name of who he was meeting. This should be interesting.

*****

Keith got home from the studio in record time. Off came the suit, on went jeans, a sweater and a sport coat. He checked twice to make sure there were no traces of makeup left before heading out to meet the mystery man. Chrissy hadn't even left him a name to go on, just the "silver haired and gorgeous" description from earlier. Assuming the other guy would know who he was looking for, Keith decided he would just take a seat at the bar and let himself be found.

When he entered the bar, Keith was surprised to see Anderson Cooper sitting there. Collar open, martini in hand, he looked every inch the cool urban sophisticate - just the kind of guy that Keith always thought was a little out of his league. At least it was someone he knew, so waiting for his date to show shouldn't be too bad. "Anderson."

"Keith! I haven't seen you in a while." Andy looked him up and down; he'd put on a few pounds since he'd last seen him a couple years ago, but Keith was one of those lucky men who was just getting better looking with age. Andy set down his drink and offered his hand; Keith shook and took the stool next to him.

"That's because they keep me locked up in a stone fortress in New Jersey."

"Yeah, but I like what you're doing out there. You take on stories the rest of us aren't." He took a sip of his drink, pausing to think if he should admit what a fanboy he was. What the hell. "And the puppets were pure genius. You're on my Tivo every night." Anderson didn't get the eye roll he expected, but he did get a smile as Keith signaled for the bartender.

"Thanks, now I've officially met all 37 of my viewers." So Anderson was a fan. Go figure. Maybe he had a shot after all. When he fulfilled his obligation to Chrissy's friend he'd give him a call. "So what brings you this far uptown?" Nothing wrong with checking in case he got stood up tonight, right?

The last thing Anderson wanted to do was sound like he was unavailable, just in case this blind date didn't work out, but what could he do? "I'm uh, meeting a friend."

"Me too." Keith ordered a scotch, then turned back to Andy. The camera really didn't do those eyes justice. "Speaking of meeting friends, I had lunch with a colleague of yours. Chrissy Amanpour."

Anderson laughed, nearly choking on his drink. "Chrissy? Don't let her hear you call her that. She'll hurt you."

"Oh, I got a special dispensation a long time ago." Keith grinned and took a sip of his drink, "I used to..." Don't go there. Do not paint 'straight" across your forehead, "uh, know her when she first started at CNN way back when."

Huh. Keith knew Christiane back then, maybe he'd know who she was dating at the time. "This person I'm supposed to meet is an old friend of hers. She forgot to give me his name, just said they dated around when she started at CNN. You wouldn't know..."

Keith's eyes got wide. He set down his drink and looked at Anderson. Gorgeous. Silver hair. Works at CNN. Fan of Puppet Theatre.

Anderson looked at Keith and put two and two together. Tall. Handsome. Sexy voice. Allowed to call her 'Chrissy.' "Did she...?"

"She did. You're... we're..." Keith gestured, quickly pointing at himself, then Andy, and back again. They both had a good laugh at it.

"She didn't tell you who you were looking for either?"

"Nope. Maybe she wanted to surprise us?"

Anderson tilted his head down and looked up through his lashes. "Can I make a confession?"

"By all means." This is it, Keith thought, the part where he gets shot down.

"No matter who came through that door tonight, I wasn't leaving until I got your number."

So much for being shot down. "I had the exact same plan. As a matter of fact, I was hoping I'd get stood up."

Andy looked up and smiled at Keith. "So why don't we get out of here and find out if 'Chrissy' is right about us?"

Keith stood and laid a bill down on the bar. "Mr. Cooper, I thought you'd never ask."

**Author's Note:**

> _Disclaimer: Any similarity between the fictional version of the person portrayed here and the actual person is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction. This is not an attempt to defame the character of said person on the basis of libel, as the work is FICTIONAL (and NOT an intently false statement created with the express purpose of misleading others about the actual character of said person)._
> 
> Any mention of any associated entities, or any copyrighted material pertaining therein is reasonably protected by the Fair Use Rule of the United States Copyright Act of 1976, and is not intended to infringe upon any copyrighted material.


End file.
